Electric-railway construction.



No. 693,244. Patented Feb. Il, 1902.

. F. P. DERR. ELECTRIC RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION.

(Application led Sept. 11. 1901.]

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK P. BERR, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

ELECTRIC-RAILWAYCONSTRUCTION;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 693,244, dated February 11 1902. Application iiled September 11, 190 1. Serial No. '75,093- (No model.)

'To all whom t may concern: l

Be it known that I, FRANK I. DERR, a citizen of the United States,residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric-Railway Construction; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference bei ing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of l reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in electric-railway construction; and it has for its objects, among others, the provision of aY simple, efficient, and comparatively inexpensive electric-rail- Waysystem wherein the overhead trolley poles and wires may be dispensed with anda simple and efficient means provided for conducting the 'current of electricity within the interior of a hollow or two-part rail, which rail serves as the rails or track upon which the wheels ofthe car travel.

To these ends and to such others as the in'- vention maypertain the same consists in the peculiar construction and in the novel combination, arrangement, and adaptation of parts, all as more fully hereinafter described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and then speciiically dened in the appended claim.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of this speciication, and in which-f Figure l is a side view showing a portion of 'a car upon.the track. Fig. 2 is an enlarged' longitudinal section o f one of the rails, showing the arrangement of the conductor-bar therein. Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse section, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail in perspective, of a portion of one ofthe rails.

Reference now being had to the details of the drawings by letter, A designates one of the railway-rails, which is composed of two halves or sections A and A2, preferably made of rolled steel, each of the saidsections consisting of an upright or body portion AS and a top portion B, extending at right angles to the body portion. These bisected or two-part rails are designed to be set into recesses formed in the cross-ties, to which they are secured, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, thus providing a secure seat upon the crossties, and the rails are secured to the tiesand suitably braced by means of brace-plates D, the bases of which plates are secured tothe upper face of the tie, while the upright por tion of the said base-plate is bolted to the rail, as shown at a a. When the rail-.sections A and A2 are bolted in place, an inter; vening space E is yprovided 'between the inner edges of the hanged portions B of the rail'- sections, thus providing a longitudinal slot extending longitudinally of the rail, within which the trolley shaft or pole travels, as Vwill presently appear. y

F is a conductor for the electric current and may be of any suitable form or material, in the present instance it being shown as triangular in cross-section.l This conductor is Carriedfupo Suitable Supports, as shownat,

H,beinginsulatedtherefrom, as shown, by the insulatingmaterial G. .The conductor F extends directly beneath'the slot or opening E, which is provided between the sections of the rail and with them engage the trolley-Wheel "I, carried by the shaft of pole J, through the medium of which the current is conducted to the motor located upon the car, asis the case l with the conductor, theshaft of pole carryling the trolley-wheel is provided with a spring K, by the tension of which a uniform pressure of the, trolley-wheelv upon the conductor-is 'at all times assured. p

It will be at once noted that as both of the rails upon which the car travels is designed to be constructed as above described in case it should be desired both rails maybe used simultaneously for conducting electricity, and the car can thus be supplied from both sides at once. Hence by providing both trucks of the car with motors one could receive its current from one side and the other from the opposite rail, it being proposed to have the pole or shaft of the trolley-wheel travel immediately in the rear of the car-wheels upon one or both sides of the car, as preferred.

Having thus described my invention, what I cured to the .upper surfaces of the ties, and I claim t0 be new, and desire to secure by Letto the outer faces of said rail-sections and ters Patent, is holding the latter securely in place, substan- A conductor for electric railways, compristially as shown and described.

5 ing in combination with the inverted- L- In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my I5 shaped rail sections, the recessed ties, the signature in ypresence of two witnesses. baseplates seated in said recesses and on FRANK P. DERR. which said rails are supportedj the conductor Witnesses: and T-shztped supports therefor, resting on l F. W. TIBBETTS,

1o said base-plates, and the angle-plates se- FRANKLIN Il. IIOUGH. 

